Barrel machinery



UNiTED sTATEs PATENT oEEIoE.

HORACE S. HIGGENS, OF GRAHAM, INDIANA.

BARREL MACHINERY.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 11,894, dated November 7, 1854.

To all 'whom t may concern Be it known that I, HORACE S. HIGGENS, ofGraham, in the county of Jefferson and Sta-te ofIndiana, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Machines for Howeling, Chamfering, andCrozing Barrels, &c.; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the construct-ion and operation ofthe same, reference being had to the annexed drawing, forming part ofthis specification, in which- Figure l is a top view of the machine.Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a view of the movablerim inverted. Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the line of Fig. 1.

Similar characters of reference in the several figures denote the samepart of the machine.

This machine which is designed for shop use, consists essentially of ashaft and expanding rim,A to the latter of which the several cutters aresecured, and which is'connected with the shaft as will be hereafter setfor'th. The shaft A is of an Octagon cross section, with its extremitiesturned as vshown lin the drawing. 'Ihrough the wide faces of said shaftrun the rods or bars m, placed in pairs, and movable upon said bars, arethe sections B, L), D, E of the circular cutter rim, the ends of theseveral sections being mortised and tenoned as seen at Fig. 2. Each ofthese sections is by a cord or chain y, attached to the elastic portionof a spring secured to one of the plane faces of the shaft A. Thesesprings b, c, d, e, are held in a contracted position by catches nextending from the shaft lA above the loose extremities of the saidsprings: so that when the catch is removed, the spring will by itsexpansion cause the section in front of it to traverse the rods m uponwhich the said section rests. Secured to th'e under side of the sectionB is the curved plane stock F, containing the oblique bit f, which formsthe chamfering tool. Under the section C is the stock G carrying the bitg, which constitutes the howcling tool. The crozing tool t which issimilar to that in ordinary use, is contained in the stock I-I under thesection D. The section E serves as a stock for a bit Z for leveling theends of the staves. 1

The operation of my improved machine is as follows: The barrel issecured in any suitable manner upon the shop floor, over a smallcircular platform fastened to the Hoor, and `containing a hole for the`reception of the lower extremity of the shaft, while the upper end ofthe same passes through an opening in a beam above. The machine israised by suitable means so as to pass clear of the barrel and descendinto it until the circular rim rests on the end of the barrel, and thelower `end of the shaft A enters the hole in the permanent platform; theshaft t then being capable of turning around its bearings in theplatform and the beam. The spring b is then loosened, causing thesection B to move outward on the rods m and bring the bit f against theinterior of the barrel. The operator then turns the shaft A a few times,by means of the lever L, `and the chamfering is complete. A

The spring is then pressed toward the shaft and secured as before, theconnection g causing the section B to recede to its first position andresume its place in the circle. The section E` is next thrown outcausing the bit Z by a few turns of the shaft, to level the ends, of thestaves. The howeling is next'performed by the cutter g in the samemanner, and after that the crozing by the tool 71,; the sections beingadvanced and withdrawn as described for the section B. The barrel isthen reversed, and the above described operations performed on theopposite end.

The operation of chamferng, leveling, howeling and crozing performed asabove described is expeditiously and accurately accomplished, with farmore ease to the operator than by the ordinary mode.

I do not claim any of the tools separately considered, but

What I do claim as new, and of my own invention and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-

The combination of the shaft with the sectional expanding cutter rim,constructed, arranged, and operating ysubstantially as herein before setforth.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name before twosubscribing witnesses.

I-I. S. HIGGENS.

